


Great Expectations

by Winifred_Zachery



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Avengers as family, Brief Mention of Alcoholism, Don’t copy to another site, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hydra, Kidnapping, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Tony Stark, comic book medicine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 21:00:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18948565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winifred_Zachery/pseuds/Winifred_Zachery
Summary: Things are going great for Tony. He’s feeling happy and secure in his relationship with his alphas. The only thing missing to make them a real family is a baby. Or is it?





	Great Expectations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lokivsanubis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokivsanubis/gifts).



> This is my gift fic for the Starkspangledwinter gift excange to celebrate our 300th member!
> 
> From the three prompts my challenger gave me I chose:
> 
> "Rating doesn’t matter, Avengers as Family Fic with Stuckony deciding on parenting aka adopting a child or mpreg"
> 
> So here goes, I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> ***
> 
> This story was beta'd by the lovely [ QueenMaeve ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenMaeve). Thank you so much!

Tony stands in front of the mirror in his physician’s office, the hem of his shirt pulled up to his chest, looking himself up and down, turning sideways, practiced eye measuring familiar dimensions.

With a sigh, he places a hand on his stomach that’s still just as flat as it ever was.

He should be proud, really, considering his age and Bucky’s baking sprees, that he is as trim as he is.

But as an omega who’s hoping to give his alphas a baby, it’s a bit disappointing.

They’ve been trying for months now, he, Bucky and Steve, ever since his partners managed to convince him that he was allowed to want. That fatherhood was something he could have. That they would support him every step of the way and be overjoyed to share this with him.

After four months and as many heats without contraception he still hasn’t caught. This is the fourth time he’s gone to see Dr. Fuller after his heat for testing and it is becoming more and more frustrating.

His alphas have been nothing but supportive. Spending heats being intimate with both of them, knowing that they’re trying for a family together, is fantastic. He can feel the love in every touch, every kiss and caress, in every look they gift him and each other with.

Sure, they’ve never withheld any of their affection from Tony, even before they decided to start a family. But now it seems like Steve, Bucky and even Tony are so much more committed to their relationship than they’ve ever been before. It’s honestly just his kind of luck that now that they’re finally ready for the next step, his body decides it’s not ready to have a baby.

Or ready no longer.

Tony warned them. He’s on the wrong side of forty. He’s been through hell and back and has the scars to show for it. He’s got a weak heart and reduced lung capacity and he’s an alcoholic, even though he’s just celebrated his fourth year of sobriety. He’s constantly stressed and sleep-deprived, works too much, plays with chemicals, fire and heavy machinery and drinks way too much coffee.

No wonder this isn’t gonna work out, no matter what the doctor keeps telling him.

The door opening draws him out of his musings. But it isn’t Dr. Fuller like he’s been expecting but a strange woman in a lab coat he hasn’t seen before.

“Mr. Stark, I’m very sorry,” she greets him with an apologetic smile and walks over to shake his hand. “Dr. Fuller had to leave unexpectedly, she was called out to an emergency. I’m Dr. Lavigne and she asked me to give you your results.”

Tony shrugs and nods. It’s not the first time he’s seen Dr. Fuller rush off to the hospital in a hurry after one of her patients went into labour. He just wishes it’d be him she was coming to see finally, but the way Dr. Lavigne is studying his chart with a small frown on her face isn’t boding well.

“Just tell me, still nothing, right?” he sighs, preferring to be pro-active even when receiving bad news. Bucky and Steve will be so disappointed. 

Her pitying look is almost too much for him and he wants nothing more than to leave right then, but Dr. Lavigne has already continued speaking.

“Have you been sticking to your diet?” she asks, turning her stern gaze from the chart in front of her to Tony.

“Sure, I mean, mostly,” Tony stammers and lets himself fall back into his chair. “You know how hard it is to wake up without a little coffee, right?”

Of course Dr. Fuller had discussed cutting back his caffeine intake, but it’d never been an issue before. As long as he’ll quit the habit once he’s actually a little further along in his pregnancy.

“You are aware that caffeine greatly hampers your body’s ability to conceive, Mr. Stark?”

Her tone is entirely unamused. “The same goes for alcohol, junk foods, raw ingredients, like cheese, red meat and so on. I’m sure Dr. Fuller went over that list with you.”

“Uh,” Tony starts, confused. Dr. Fuller did talk with him about these things and recommended a well balanced diet but she never told him to stay away from cheese and meat. “I didn’t think this was gonna be a problem for conception.”

“Mr. Stark,” Dr. Lavigne huffs, “why do you think you have been having trouble conceiving? I am sure your alpha would agree with me if he was here, that you should do anything to finally give him a litter of healthy pups, don’t you think?”

Tony blinks, stunned. “Alphas,” he corrects automatically. Of course Bucky and Steve support him in any way they can, encourage him to eat healthier (which isn’t too hard when Steve cooks delicious dishes that happen to contain lots of veggies), but they never blame him when he comes home once again with the same news, that it hasn’t worked. Or do they?

“Don’t you think that Captain America deserves a dutiful omega to carry his pups? Even if you’re much older than is advisable.”

“I think we’re done here,” Tony announces and gets up, nearly throwing the chair to the floor in his haste to leave.

He’s still been feeling hopeful despite their several unsuccessful tries, motivated by the unwavering support of his lovers and the gentle encouragement from Dr. Fuller. 

This is exactly what he does not need to hear. He knows he is old and already skipping heats, he knows he’s got nothing on his partners, they deserve so much better. But when Bucky and Steve chose him - because they love him and he loves them - he decided to be the best version he can for them. But for some trying his best apparently it still isn’t enough. It’s discouraging.

He storms out of the doctor’s office, not even waiting for Happy to follow with his coat.

Next time he’ll ask Dr. Fuller to come and see him at the tower. He’s sure he can buy any equipment he might need beforehand. He will not go back to be confronted by that horrible person again, listening to her tell him that he isn’t good enough for his partners.

“Ice cream, Happy, you know where,” he orders the man when he finally arrives at the car, probably a bit harsher than he intends to. Damn, he’ll have to apologize for it later when he’s not feeling as out of sorts. Some raw milk ice cream will surely lift his spirits, he thinks, just to spite the doctor.

Happy just shrugs and climbs into the driver’s seat. He can probably guess what killed Tony’s good mood so abruptly. At least he manages to keep his pitying glances to himself.

***

“I’m sorry,” he sighs quietly when he climbs into bed that night where Bucky and Steve are already half asleep. After his ice cream pity party Tony hid out in his lab, not even bothering to appear for dinner.

He should have gone. Should have eaten veggies instead of ice cream, should have done yoga instead of taking apart cars, gone to bed early instead of staying up late.

Bucky lifts the blankets so Tony can slide in between them. “Missed you, doll,” he murmurs and pulls Tony close so he is half lying on top of him. Steve’s arm immediately comes to rest on his back.

Of course his lovers already know that there’s no news beyond the usual. They’ll have guessed when he didn’t come running.

“Sleep now, I’ll make breakfast tomorrow,” Steve murmurs and presses a kiss into his hair. Tony can hear the worry in his voice.

This is not what he wanted. He wants his alphas to be happy with him, not disappointed, not worried.

Maybe he’s not cut out for this. Maybe he’ll be able to talk to his alphas about it. They can adopt. They can hire a surrogate. He’ll love any child of Bucky or Steve’s like it is his own. He’ll get over his disappointment. Eventually.

***

He also skips his next appointment with Dr. Fuller, citing a full calendar as an excuse. He does not want to risk running into Dr. Lavigne again. Tony doesn’t tell his alphas about Dr. Lavigne. He also ignores the huge package of prenatal vitamins and a strict dietary plan she suggests starting even before conception.

He throws the package away.

Then he fishes the package out of the trash and asks Happy to bring it to one of the many omega shelters in the city. He’s sure somebody there can use them better than he can.

***

Tony’s next heat doesn’t come.

It’s happened before, but this is the first one since they started trying for a baby. He’s getting older, he’ll skip heats, the doctor told him it would happen. Tony still feels horrible when he bats Bucky’s wandering hands away on the morning he’s due.

He can’t even fake being interested.

Bucky isn’t mad. He’s concerned. Steve watches him with dark eyes during breakfast. Tony barely eats anything and beats a hasty retreat to the lab, cursing himself for being too cowardly to bring up other options of starting a family after his last doctor’s appointment. 

The whole matter kills his appetite. He eats whenever Bucky or Steve bring him something, they still go out on dates where Tony enjoys seafood stew and burgers and ice cream, but especially the mornings are tough, when he can’t stand the sight of food or even coffee without getting nauseous.

It’s like his body is mocking him. He’s not pregnant for fuck’s sake, the doctor’s tests were quite conclusive. And he hasn’t spent a heat with his lovers since, so there is really no reason why he should have morning sickness or why his favourite pair of jeans should suddenly start pinching just a little.

Some online research suggests he’s showing symptoms of a false pregnancy, making him ruthlessly squash down on his sudden urge to nest and stay close to his alphas.

It can’t be. There’s just no hope here.

Instead he goes out alone even though he’d rather snuggle up to Bucky on the couch while watching a movie together or help Steve cook team dinner.

He goes out for burgers at his favourite fast food joint or takes runs with Clint and Natasha, who gracefully slow down without being too obvious about it each time Tony can’t quite keep up.

Today he’s left his alphas to spar in the gym, even though he usually loves watching them and even joining in occasionally when things get a little more than physical. Instead he decided on a calming walk through Central Park, incognito of course, wearing one of Steve’s hoodies and Thor’s sunglasses, because they were the least stylish ones he could find. Nobody is gonna recognize Tony Stark in this kind of get-up.

The weather is nice and the fresh air clears his head enough to think, no distractions from the myriad of tasks and problems his brain wants to solve when he hides out in the lab.

Things can’t continue like this. Tony knows Bucky and Steve grow more and more frustrated with him every day, mostly because they’re worried about him. He doesn’t want them to worry, he wants to give them a baby, have a real family with them, but the longer his results come back negative, the more likely it is that he just won’t be able to.

They should really talk about it and maybe explore other options. Even though Tony will have a hard time convincing his stupid brain that he is not as inadequate as he feels right now.

He’ll do it tonight. He’ll tell them that he wants to stop trying. He’ll confess that he feels pressured, mostly by himself of course. He’ll whack Steve over the head if he gives Tony even one more needlessly worried glance and he’ll probably knee Bucky in the groin if he so much as hints at being a lousy alpha unable to care for his omega’s needs properly.

Seriously, those two always have to carry the whole world on their own shoulders. Tony should be flattered that they refuse to acknowledge that he might simply be too old to bear children.

Looks like it’s time to think about other means of having a family, maybe through a surrogate or adoption. Yes, that’s what they’ll do and afterwards they can go back to enjoying fantastic sex again without the added pressure of procreation.

Now that he’s decided on a course of action, Tony imagines he should feel a little lighter, but the weird nausea is still there. Maybe it’s time for one more visit to Dr. Fuller.

Tony plucks his mobile out of his pocket and dials. No time like the present, after all, but before he even manages to press the first button, a sharp pain in his arm makes him fumble with the phone and drop it.

Gasping, Tony looks up, then down, to discover a blowgun dart stuck in the fabric of his hoodie.

“What, no…” he protests feebly, weakly, before the world goes dark around him.

***

When Tony wakes up again, he feels so nauseous he wants nothing more than roll over and throw up. The world around him is too bright and too loud all at once and he can’t move.

Somebody strapped his midsection to a bed frame or a gurney, probably so he won’t fall off, effectively keeping him in place. Tony swallows against the nausea.

In the background he can hear people talk. One of the voices is familiar.

“...will have what you need in a matter of months,” a woman, judging by the pitch of her voice, promises.

“I very much hope so,” a male voice replies, sounding more like its owner has a hard time believing it. “Just remember, this is your last chance.”

“Of course, Commander, leave him to me. I will not disappoint you.”

Then there are footsteps and Tony reflexively opens his eyes when a shadow falls across his face.

“Mr. Stark, how lovely of you to rejoin us,” the familiar voice greets him and Tony blinks against the bright light to see who it belongs to.

“Don’t worry, the narcotic was chosen specifically to not harm the pup.”

Pup? What… He knows that voice, remembers it talking of pups and Captain America. Dr. Lavigne whom he’d never wanted to see again, somebody must have called her and she is leaning over him flanked by a huge goon in black uniform.

Tony sits up and abruptly wishes he hadn’t, as the world starts spinning around him in a nauseating dance. He can’t hold back anymore, losing the fight to dizziness, and manages to lean forward just in time to throw up all over his hoodie, the floor and Dr. Lavigne’s shoes.

The woman jumps back, cursing, and suddenly Tony is lifted up by his arm, the one that still stings from the injection, while coughing miserably.

“No, don’t,” the doctor orders her companion sharply. The grip on Tony’s upper arm loosens but does not let go completely. “It wouldn’t do to harm the pup.”

Pup? There is no pup. She told him herself.

“He’s done quite enough damage by himself as it is.”

“What are you talking about?” he finally rasps and spits out a mouthful of acid, bringing a hand up to his eyes to wipe away the tears that make everything blurry.

The doctor has turned away from them, pulling off her shoes with gloved hands while a nurse hurries over with a pair of white hospital issue rubber sandals. He’s wearing Hydra insignia on his upper arm. Damn.

“You couldn’t even follow the simplest of instructions,” the doctor hisses through her teeth, wiping at a spot on her blouse and for a second Tony feels immensely proud for his impeccable aim. “You didn’t stick to your diet, you didn’t take your vitamins, you worked late and left your alpha instead of nesting like a proper omega should for the wellbeing of his pup.” Her voice is calm and ice cold. It sounds like hatred.

“But there is no pup,” Tony protests, staring at her but not daring to move thanks to the goon still leaving bruises all over his arm. “You told me so!”

“Oh, Mr. Stark,” she sighs and walks over to pat him on the head, condescending and patronising. It makes Tony’s hackles rise but he does not dare move. “Everything would have been fine. You should have taken your vitamins and stopped working. You could have stayed with your alpha! Early stimulation from their sire is very healthy for a pup.”

She pauses and frowns then, disappointment clearly visible in her face. “But you had to be stubborn and ruin it, didn’t you, Mr. Stark. You had to be the unruly omega everyone thought you were going to turn into. So, for the sake of the pup, we had to act.”

Tony swallows around the lump in his throat. He wants to be sick again. 

If only he’d known. If only the doctor had told him. Steve and Bucky would have probably gone all protective alpha on him, not like they would have had much of a choice. They wouldn’t have let him out of their sight, let alone roaming Central Park without at least one of their pack accompanying him. Hydra wouldn’t have stood a chance.

And what makes the situation even worse: Tony always knew he’d turn out a lousy parent. And see what he’s done, worked too hard, drank coffee by the gallon and went out for burgers instead of eating his veggies.

Well, it’s too late for wishing he’d acted differently

What he knows is that he has to get out of here. He will not let Hydra have his child!

Tony dares to take a covert glance around, his eyes immediately landing on the medical tray filled with sharp instruments. Surely he’ll be able to rig some kind of weapon from all the pointy things on there. His hand is already twitching the second the goon lets his grip ease a little.

“Ah ah, I wouldn’t try anything if I were you, Mr. Stark,” the doctor admonishes and shakes her head. “There are guards pointing their weapons at you at all times.”

“You wouldn’t risk losing your precious prize,” Tony tries to reason. “You surely want the child alive.”

Dr. Lavigne nods, but her smile is cold. “That would indeed be preferable.”

She walks over to Tony and pats his stomach, making him flinch away as far as he can. Which isn’t far considering he’s still bound tightly to the gurney.

“However, if all we get is a nice sample of Captain America’s DNA, then we will be content with that.”

“Half a sample,” Tony can’t help but correct. She’s a doctor for fuck’s sake, she should know her genetics better.

“Even so,” she continues, brushing off his objection. “The serum will have left enough of a mark that the clump of cells living inside of you will provide us with enough data to recreate a serum with similar properties to the Captain’s.”

 

That makes Tony pause. It doesn’t work that way. They’ve tried, with the original even. The best SHIELD scientists have studied Steve’s blood, his cells, his DNA, without success. There is no way to reverse-engineer it, even with a full set of DNA. Which any offspring of Steve’s wouldn’t even have.

Having half of Steve’s DNA, namely the one Tony is possibly carrying inside him right now, mingled with his own, would leave Hydra with nothing at all.

No, he thinks, remembering the conversation he overheard when he woke up. The doctor spoke about a matter of months. What if she means nine? Or rather 7, since she probably knew he was expecting when she’d seen him two months ago.

They want the baby alive and that is Tony’s only hope. Maybe it’s time to call her bluff and buy himself and the rest of his pack enough time for escape or rescue.

“But what if it’s not the Captain’s?” Tony asks and immediately regrets his total lack of brain to mouth filter as the doctor’s expression grows dark.

“Would you care to explain to me why it should not be the Captain’s, Mr. Stark?”

The goon steps back, making Tony collapse against the gurney. It is not exactly reassuring that even Hydra goons fear the doctor’s wrath.

“As I’ve told you before,” Tony starts, “I’m bound to two alphas. And I’ve been trying for a baby with both of them.” There’s no way back now. Either this works or ruins everything.

Tony can see the doctor’s face turn ashen. He manages a cocky grin.

“Bucky Barnes, swell guy, Cap’s best friend. You probably know him, considering he’s been in Hydra’s clutches for more than seventy years.”

“You filthy omega mongrel,” the doctor screeches, hand raising to deliver a stinging slap to his face.

It’s just the moment Tony has been waiting for, as it allows him to rock the gurney to the side with all his weight, making it sway and crash onto the floor just a second later, taking the tablet filled with medical supplies with him. He hits the ground hard and silently apologises to his pup, but this is their only chance. One deft movement has him palm as many of the needles and forceps into the front pocket of his hoodie as possible, hoping nobody will have noticed his movements behind the fallen gurney.

“That’s enough!” He hears the doctor curse, still out of sight. “Get him into his cell, we’re done here for today.”

“What, no testing whether it’s really Captain America’s child?” Tony can’t help but taunt her, knowing very well that such tests are impossible to carry out at this stage without serious risk of miscarriage.

The doctor doesn’t grace him with an answer, instead waves the good forward who cuts Tony off the gurney with a knife sharp enough to make him flinch, before escorting him none too gently out of the infirmary room, down a long corridor and into a cell.

As soon as the door closes behind him, Tony sinks to the ground, legs shaking too bad to hold him up any longer.

If it was just him he’d have risked more. If it was just him, he’d have attacked the goon with one of the scalpels and scratched at the doctor with a pair of tweezers.

But it’s not just him.

Tony wants to curl up on the cold floor.

But, alas, it’s not just him. He’s not doing this for just himself anymore.

So he crawls over to the thin mattress laid out on the floor as a bed and pulls himself onto it.

His shoulder hurts from the fall, but he won’t mind as long as it’s not his stomach. As long as he hasn’t done harm to his baby.

“What a great parent I am already,” he whispers bitterly into the darkness.

Tony always knew he’d be ruthless, just like his own father. His child isn’t even more than a heap of cells yet and he’s already using them as a bargaining chip.

His alphas will be so thrilled to find out.

If they ever find out. They have no way to find him, after all.

Tony curls in on himself and places his hands on his stomach, the only protection he has for his unborn child. But a metallic clank makes him pause.

It worked. At least he has a weapon now.

***

After taking stock of his cell - there really isn’t much more in there than the mattress, prison-style toilet and basin and a small table with stool, all bolted to the floor - Tony decides that he needs to rest first. The adrenaline is wearing off and thank the stars for that because it can’t be good for the baby, but it leaves his body aching and his thoughts sluggish. So he curls up on the mattress, which at least smells more or less clean, and closes his eyes.

He wakes up feeling surprisingly rested, eyes immediately taking in his surroundings. There’s a tray with food on the ground by the door which he goes on to investigate. Fruit, some bread smeared with what looks like cream cheese and a whole dish full of pills. Those, he guesses, are the very necessary prenatal vitamins the doctor prescribed. No coffee. 

For a moment he debates just leaving his breakfast untouched but he is ravenous and also relatively sure he’s read somewhere that children require regular sustenance, even unborn. See, Tony can do this, he can be a responsible parent. 

And while ordinarily Tony fears being poisoned more than the hunger when he is kidnapped, this time he is relatively sure that the food is not meant to harm him or the child, since Hydra wants the Captain’s offspring alive and well.

So he eats and then rests some more, mainly because there’s nothing else to do. Briefly he wonders if the good doctor subscribes to the school of premature learning so he can convince her to let him have some books, maybe a TV or even a computer with internet access. A fella can dream, can’t he.

For now he can do nothing but dream. And wait. Because even though he has some small weapons slash tools, without better knowledge of where Hydra is keeping them and how many guards there are or where the next computer terminal is, they’ll have a hard time planning an escape.

And isn’t it amazing that he already thinks of them in the plural form? Him and his little one against the world. It has quite the ring to it, doesn’t it. Bucky will be so amused once he tells his alphas.

But first they need to get out of here.

The first chance he gets to investigate his surroundings is when he is taken back to the examination room, interestingly enough by the same tired-looking goon that handled him the day before. Since Tony is pretty sure that it’s morning now and he’s been taken in the late afternoon the day before, this feels like skeleton staff, like the good doctor lost her funding and Hydra’s compliance after one too many failures.

Maybe she’s messed up before. Maybe she hasn’t produced the desired results before and is on trial now. Maybe recreating the super soldier serum from Steve Rogers’ offspring is the only chance she has now to prove herself to her superiors.

Well, Tony is not gonna make it easy for her. Because now that he knows that there is life within him, he will move heaven and earth to protect it. Hell hath no fury and all that jazz.

So he observes, lets the doctor prod him and stick him with needles to get some bloodwork done. Turns out that the pup did not suffer any lasting damage from yesterday’s adrenaline dump, as Dr. Lavigne informs him.

Tony is careful not to let her see his relief.

On the way back to his cell he takes in all the doors and entrances, noting which have windows and which are especially well secured with fingerprint pads.

Overall he gets the impression that this Hydra base is not as well secured as others he’s seen from the inside. He might just have a chance to get out of this alive to present his alphas with their offspring. They’re gonna be so proud!

Which he knows, rationally at least, that they already are. His stupid brain isn’t easily convinced, though.

But first things first. Tony only manages to catch one glimpse of the goon throughout the whole day, as he is the one bringing him dinner, which he slides through a small flap in the door, each time looking more and more disgruntled.

The next day, after another relatively good night’s sleep, considering that Tony is missing his alphas something fierce, the goon is still there.

And since Tony is sure that by now his alphas are gonna be looking for him any way they - and JARVIS - know how, he’ll just have to get as far as the next computer terminal to send a message to the Avengers, preferably with coordinates and force level.

“Don’t worry, little one, we’ll be out of here in no time,” he whispers, stroking one hand across the skin of his belly which, he believes, has grown a little bigger than it was before; marveling at the fact that he’s already resorted to talking to his baby, even though there’s no scientific proof that the tiny bit of life inside him can even recognize him yet.

The day goes by and with it more tests executed by Dr. Lavigne, which he endures even in spite of the extreme nausea. He manages to make himself sick once more but unfortunately this time the doctor is too quick to step back for him to hit her shoes again.

Pity, really.

And when the same goon comes to shove dinner through the hatch, Tony is ready. He is still strong and agile, no matter his condition. He grabs the goon’s hand just as he shoves the tray with more bread and boiled vegetables and no doubt a healthy dose of prenatal vitamins through the flap and pulls with all his strength, banging the guy’s head against the door hard. Tony doesn’t even need to use the scalpel to render his enemy unconscious.

Turning the unmoving body over to reach the set of keys on his belt through the flap proves to be a more difficult task that leaves Tony panting and sweating but finally in the corridor without any indication of other people incoming.

“Great teamwork,” he tells his almost invisible bump before unlocking the door and sneaking out into the empty corridor. There is no alarm sounding and no footsteps come running towards them.

So Tony takes his chance and moves forward, along the corridor, dragging the unconscious gard behind him all the way to try and open one of the locked doors with his fingerprint.

“Working out with your two daddies is really worth it,” he tells the little one quietly. “As is dragging a huge metal suit around on a daily basis.”

Luck is with him, as the first door that he opens by lifting a lifeless 180 pound male up to press a twitching finger against a tiny finger print pad, leads to some kind of surveillance room complete with a folding bed, laptop for playing solitaire and mobile phone next to an abandoned coffee cup.

This is almost too easy, Tony thinks as he hurries over to the mobile phone, but hoping that at least once in his life his luck will hold. The unconscious guy’s fingerprint also unlocks the phone and from there it’s only a minute until he’s called JARVIS’s number.

“Hey baby, it’s good to hear your voice,” he sighs, happy to hear the familiar voice in his ear. “Can you grab my coordinates and tell Steve and Bucky where I am?”

“I am equally glad to hear your voice, Sir,” JARVIS replies. “It will take me just a couple of minutes to triangulate your exact location. Please stay on the line.”

Tony laughs. “Will do, J. And you’ll be happy to hear that you and the bots will no longer be only children.” Might as well tell his first creation the good news.

“I believe the existence of Dum-E, Butterfingers and U means I do not qualify for the title, sir. But if you are indeed indicating that your efforts with Sergeant Barnes and Captain Rogers have finally been fruitful, I will happily congratulate you and welcome the new family member with open circuits.”

“That’s my boy,” Tony grins. “I believe you’ve had enough time now to find me, don’t you? How long till my alphas get here?”

“I believe it will only be a matter of minutes now, judging by the speed with which they just abandoned their nervous pacing.”

“Good job, J,” Tony praises his AI. “I better go back to my cell and lay low till the cavalry gets here.”

“Indeed, sir, that would be advisable. Kindly do me a favour and stay out of trouble. My sensors will not be able to take much more of Captain Rogers’ disappointed glances should anything else happen to you.”

“Course J, I know how deadly those can be.” Tony can’t help but chuckle. “See you on the other side.”

The line goes dead and Tony abandons the phone where he left it. With the last of his suddenly rapidly dwindling energy, he pulls the guard fully into the surveillance room.

“This used to be easier, I’m sure,” he huffs. “This is all your fault, isn’t it. I bet I’ll spend the next 6 months being pampered by your daddies.” Yeah, that sounds like a perfect idea, Tony thinks as he sneaks back to his cell to wait.

But actually, that doesn’t sound all that bad. He’ll get out the nice fluffy blankets he ordered on a whim and build them a proper nest. He’ll even let them feed him and cuddle him all day and stroke his growing stomach as long as they’ll get him out of here and away from Hydra and the creepy doctor.

It doesn’t take long for the first hurried steps to pass his cell. That hasn’t happened before so Tony takes it as a good sign.

A few minutes later more steps follow. They’re not stopping anywhere, suggesting the goon in the surveillance room still hasn’t been discovered.

Then the cell door bangs open, but Tony is ready for that. He’s got the scalpel in one hand and a syringe with a frighteningly long tip in the other.

“Move,” the doctor screams at him, not hesitating to sprint towards him to grasp his arm. “Keep the portal open,” she then adds, half turned towards the door. In the background he hears shouting and fighting noises.

Tony doesn’t hesitate. He rams the scalpel into her midsection and pushes as hard as he can. While such a small weapon would do little to incapacitate an experienced soldier, the good doctor is probably not experienced in battle as she crumples to the floor with a shout of pain.

It is all Tony needs to run towards the door and into the corridor. There is a stench of magic in the air, tipping Tony off to what they were trying to do with him, ship him off via portal so his alphas will never be able to follow. But he won’t let them. He runs towards where the battle noises are coming from, certain that Steve and Bucky are already there and looking for him.

Just as he rounds the corner, he bumps into a hard body and nearly trips, but whoever ran into him, grasps him around the waist and keeps him from falling.

Instinctively Tony starts flailing, fighting with all he has and thrusting blindly with the syringe to fend off the attacker, cursing that he left the bloody knife with Dr. Lavigne.

“Ow, hey, ow, Tony!”

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Tony immediately stills and looks up. “Bucky…” he breathes and sags into his alpha’s arms. “Bucky, oh damn, it’s you!”

The relief is just so great that his knees decide they won’t carry him any longer, but Bucky is already holding him tight against his strong body.

“Tony, we were so worried,” Bucky sighs and buries his face in Tony’s hair. “Steve, I got him, get the Doctor over here and get outta there.”

“Doctor?” Tony asks, looking around. He’d be worried if he didn’t know they probably called in Strange the minute they discovered him missing. “I’ve had enough of doctors for a while.”

Bucky smiles and pushes Tony further along the corridor, taking care to shield Tony’s body with his own the whole time. Tony doesn’t mind the closeness at all. On the contrary, the familiar warmth and smell of Bucky calm his nerves and slowly but surely the adrenaline inside him begins to dissipate. The only thing he’s missing now is Steve on his other side. And maybe a nest. Yeah, a nest would be nice.

“You’ll have to go back to seeing Dr. Fuller soon, darlin’,” he admonishes, tipping Tony off that his little secret’s probably out already. “What with prenatal care and everything.”

But before Tony gets to reply, a shower of sparks appears next to them makes them both step back to discover Dr. Strange peering out at them from what looks like the Sanctum Sanctorum library.

“Mr. Stark, always a pleasure to see you,” Strange greets them, lazily waving a hand to widen the portal and reaching though with the other, offering it for Tony to take.

Tony snorts and waves him away. “Not an invalid, Strange,” he huffs and completely ignores the outstretched hand.

“Suit yourself,” Strange shrugs, but Tony can see the glint in his eyes.

“Come on, doll, we better get moving. Wouldn’t want Stevie to launch another rescue mission. One was quite enough for one day.”

Tony stumbles through the portal where Strange catches him with his free hand and gives him a pointed glance before stepping aside to let Bucky pass. The man’s got sense enough not to stand between an alpha and his pregnant omega.

Indeed, the first thing Bucky does is pull Tony into a hug once more, one that is a lot more gentle than Tony is used to from his super soldier partner.

“Steve was really worried,” he sighs into Tony’s neck. “Punk’s not gonna let you out of his sight for months now.”

Tony wants to roll his eyes, because, seriously, who does Bucky think he’s fooling? It’s a winning bet to say he probably was just as worried as Steve, if not more so. But then he decides not to bother pointing that out. Bucky’s arms around him do feel awfully nice after all.

“Can we go home, now?” Tony asks quietly, but makes no move to let go of Bucky.

Bucky nods and with a swift movement sweeps Tony up into his arms before he can even protest. Tony thinks he might let it slide and will put the whole thing down to pregnancy hormones.

“Not an invalid,” he grouses, pinching Bucky’s bicep.

“Sure, doll,” is his only reply before Strange opens another portal for Bucky to step through into the tower’s common room. “Thanks for the assist, Doctor.”

“Any time,” Strange answers, waving a hand at them. “And by the way,” he adds, just as the portal is about to close, “I hear that Stephen is one of the up and coming baby names this season.”

“You don’t even know it’s gonna be a boy,” Tony protests. “You can’t! It’s too early!”

But the portal has already closed on a slyly smirking Strange.

“Can he?”

But before Bucky can reply, there are footsteps running towards them and Bucky puts Tony back onto his own feet just in time for Steve to sweep him off them again.

“Sweetheart, we were so worried,” he exclaims, pulling Tony against him tightly.

“Gentle, Stevie, wouldn’t do to squash him now,” Bucky admonishes and pats Steve on the shoulder.

Now Tony finally allows himself an eyes roll and gives his lover a pointed glare. “I repeat, pregnant, not invalid.”

Steve does let go at that, pulling back to look at Tony. “It’s really true? We’re gonna be a family?”

Tony nods, beaming up at his alpha. “Not like we aren’t already, considering Clint and the bots tend to behave like toddlers, but yeah, we’re gonna be even more of a family now.” He wraps his thighs around Steve’s hips now and leans back to grab Bucky’s shoulder to pull him closer.

Bucky quickly gets with the program and presses against Tony’s back, boxing him in tightly between them and coaxing a content sigh out of their omega.

“I was so scared,” Tony admits quietly, finally letting himself relax fully now that he’s safe between his alphas again. “Didn’t know, didn’t know there was a baby. I didn’t mean to be a bad omega.”

And he’ll totally blame the hormones for the few tears that manage escape.

“Not bad, never that, sweetheart, you’re so good for us,” Steve protests gently, whispering into his ear. “You didn’t know, wasn’t your fault the doctor hid it from you to get to us.”

Steve sounds at least as upset as Tony feels but Bucky leans over and kisses the blond gently on the lips and effectively halting his little speech.

“No matter now, according to the tests Hydra did on you the baby’s doing wonderful,” he reassures them and Tony wonders how he even knows about that.

“JARVIS?” Tony asks them and Bucky presses smiling lips against his cheek and nods.

“Your digital son was very upset when he got your call and started hacking Hydra for all he was worth. Had them exposed in minutes and got us an entrance into their base. Couldn’t’ve done it without him,” Bucky explains, admiration clearly audible in his voice.

“And might I say, sir,” JARVIS acknowledges, “that I am most pleased to have you back and that I am very much looking forward to meeting my younger sibling.”

“Thanks, J,” Tony smiles proudly and Steve laughs, jostling him a little.

“A real family, indeed,” he sighs and hefts Tony up again. “If you only do half as good a job assembling our baby as you did with JARVIS, we’ll all be very proud parents.”

Warmth suffuses Tony’s entire being upon his alpha’s honest praise and he lifts his eyes to beam up at Steve. “I did good?”

“Very good,” Steve confirms and Bucky nods in agreement.

“Then can I finally get my reward snuggling?” Tony demands sternly. “I think I totally deserve it!”

His alphas nearly drop him (or at least pretend to) because they’re laughing so hard, but in the end they carry him off to their bedroom where Nat, Thor and Dum-E have prepared a proper nest for them.

Tony doesn’t even mind the screwdriver he finds hiding in between two pillows.

This is what family feels like, he thinks, as Bucky and Steve take turns kissing him breathless. And he can’t wait for it to be even bigger.

**Author's Note:**

> So what do you think, is it gonna be Stephen or Stephanie? ;D
> 
> And if you wanna become our 400th member, why don't you join us in the [ Stuckony Server ](https://discord.gg/jtXcc3n)?


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